Portable Electronic Device and Image Data Communication Method Thereof

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device and an image communication method thereof are provided. The portable electronic device includes a display, a processing module and a memory. The processing module provides frame data of a corresponding frame for the display to show, enables the portable electronic device to emulate a virtual storage device under a communication link, and produces image data compliant with a file format according to the frame data of the frame. The memory stores the image data, which can be read through the communication link. The processing module provides a frame data update for the display to show and updates the image data according to the frame data update.

This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No.98113485, filed Apr. 23, 2009, the subject matter of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates in general to a portable electronic device and animage communication method thereof, and more particularly to a portableelectronic device capable of generating image data with ordinary fileformat from frame data and an image communication method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the rapid development in communication technology, portableelectronic devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistantshave become indispensable electronic products for modern people in theirdaily life. The portable electronic device normally has a small-sizeddisplay. If the portable electronic device can be externally connectedto a large-sized display, the user would find it more convenient tobrowse. However, the design of the portable electronic device isdirected to slimness and compactness, therefore some portable electronicdevices such as mobile phones, due to the restriction of the volume, donot provide the function of connecting to an external larger screen.

Some portable electronic devices having the function of outputting framesignal are limited to TV output (TV-OUT) mode and video graphics arrayoutput (VGA-OUT) mode. However, these portable electronic devices needto be installed with a corresponding interface circuit and an outputplug, and the interface circuit and output plug occupy a certainhardware space of the portable electronic device. As the installation ofextra interface circuit and output plug jeopardizes the slimness andcompactness of the portable devices such as mobile phones or personaldigital assistants, these modes of outputting frame signal are notadopted.

Apart from TV output, the data processing device such as desktopcomputer or notebook computer has a larger display, and can be easilyavailed. Currently, dedicated software, such as packet controller,supports the portable electronic device and transmits the frame data ofthe frame to the data processing device for the display of the dataprocessing device to show the frame of the portable electronic device.The user has to install dedicated software on the portable electronicdevice and the to-be-linked data processing device to support the imagedata communication method, wherein the dedicated software must becompliant with both operating systems of the portable electronic deviceand the to-be-linked data processing device. Besides, whether the imagedata communication method is applicable depends on whether themanufacturers of the portable devices provide dedicated programs forvarious operating systems. If the dedicated software does not supportthe operating system of the to-be-linked data processing device, theimage data communication method is inapplicable thereto. Thus, accordingto the conventional image data communication method, when the portableelectronic device is used in different occasions, the above installationmethod seems complicated, time-consuming, and restrictive, and theconvenience and applicability of the above installation method arelargely restricted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a portable electronic device and an imagecommunication method thereof. The portable electronic device accordingto an embodiment of the invention provides an image file containing theframe data, so that the data processing device can read and show theframe data of the portable electronic device through the display of thedata processing device without having to install any dedicated software.Thus, the user can conveniently show the frame of the portableelectronic device through other data processing devices.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a portableelectronic device including a display, a processing module and a memoryis provided. The processing module provides frame data of acorresponding frame for the display to show, enables the portableelectronic device to emulate a virtual storage device under acommunication link, and produces image data compliant with a file formataccording to the frame data of the frame. The memory stores the imagedata, which can be read through the communication link. The processingmodule provides a frame data update for the display to show, and updatesthe image data according to the frame data update.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an imagecommunication method applicable to a portable electronic device isprovided. The image communication method includes the following steps.Firstly, the portable electronic device is enabled to emulate a virtualstorage device under a communication link. Next, frame data of acorresponding frame is provided for the portable electronic device toshow and produce image data compliant with a file format accordingly.Then, the image data which can be read through the communication link isstored. After that, the frame data update is provided for the portableelectronic device to show and update the image data accordingly.

The invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The followingdescription is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a portable electronic device of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a memory of FIG. 1 storing an image file.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an image communication method of anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The portable electronic device of an embodiment of the inventionincludes a display, a processing module and a memory. The processingmodule provides frame data of a corresponding frame for the display toshow, enables the portable electronic device to emulate a virtualstorage device under a communication link, and produces image datacompliant with a file format according to the frame data of the frame.The memory stores the image data, which can be read through thecommunication link. The processing module provides a frame data updatefor the display to show, and updates the image data according to theframe data update.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a portable electronic device ofan embodiment of the invention and a data processing device is shown. Asindicated in FIG. 1, the portable electronic device 100 includes adisplay 10, a processing module 30 and a memory 50. The processingmodule 30 provides frame data corresponding to the frame of the portableelectronic device 100. In the communication link L, the processingmodule 30 of the portable electronic device 100 enables the portableelectronic device 100 to emulate a virtual storage device, and producesimage data compliant with a file format according to the frame data ofthe frame shown by the display 10.

The data processing device 70 is a computer system such as an ordinarydesktop or notebook computer. The portable electronic device 100 and thedata processing device 70 are connected through a communication link byway of universal serial bus (USB), Bluetooth, infrared communicationtechnology, wireless local network standard or wireless fidelity (WiFi)standard.

In an example, the portable electronic device 100 establishes acommunication link with the data processing device 70 by way of USBtransmission. Under the communication link L, the portable electronicdevice 100 is enabled to emulate a virtual storage device, such as USBmass storage device, through USB protocol to be read by the dataprocessing device 70. In addition, the portable electronic device 100establishes a communication link L with the data processing device 70 atanother location through network by way of wireless link. In anotherexample, the portable electronic device 100 is closer to the dataprocessing device 70, and can establish a communication link with thedata processing device 70 by way of Bluetooth or infrared technology.

The memory 50 stores the image data produced by the processing module30, wherein the image data can be read by the portable electronic device100 connected to the data processing device 70 through a communicationlink L. When the processing module 30 provides a frame data update forthe display 10 to show, the processing module 30 updates the image datastored in the memory 50 according to the frame data update.

Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 2 shows a memory of FIG. 1 storingan image file. As indicated in FIG. 2, the file format of the image datais video file format for example. When the portable electronic device100 responds to a read request of the data processing device 70 throughthe communication link L, the processing module 30 produces image datafrom the frame data of the frame and stores the image data in the memory50. The processing module 30 also obtains an address P1 of the framedata stored in the memory block A of the memory 50, wherein the memoryblock A is read by the data processing device 70. The processing module30 calculates an address P2 according to the address P1 of the memoryblock A, updates the frame data, and stores the frame data update in thememory block B of the memory 50 according to the address P2. The display10 shows the next frame according to the frame data update.

When the portable electronic device 100 responds to the read request ofthe data processing device 70 again, the memory block B of the memory 50is read by the data processing device 70, and the processing module 30calculates an address P3 according to the address P2, sequentiallyupdates frame data, and sequentially stores the frame data update in thememory block C of the memory 50 according to the address P3. The memoryblock F of the memory 50 is located at the header of the image file.

In the above embodiments of storing the image data in a memory, thestructure of the video file of the embodiment of the invention can beimplemented by various data structures such as linear data structure,cycling data structure or other data structures. The cycling datastructure is to be exemplified below.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the processing module 30, being connected to thedata processing device 70 through a communication link L, stores theframe data of the frame in the memory block A of the memory 50, andobtains an initial address P4. The processing module 30 updates theframe data and stores the frame data update in the memory block Baccording to an address P5. When the portable electronic device 100responds to the read request of the data processing device 70, thememory block A of the memory 50 is read by the data processing device70, the processing module 30 sequentially updates the frame data, andsequentially stores the frame data update in the memory block Caccording to an address P6. When the portable electronic device 100again responds to the read request of the data processing device 70, thememory block B of the memory 50 is read by the data processing device70, the processing module 30 sequentially updates the frame data, andsequentially stores the frame data update in the memory block D of thememory 50 according to an address P7. If the address P7 is the lastaddress of the image file, the processing module 30 sequentially storesthe next frame data update in the memory 50 from the initial address P4,so that the cycling data structure can effectively utilize the space ofthe memory 50. Thus, although the frame data update is sequentiallystored, the memory is free of the problem of space shortage. However, ifthe image file is implemented by a linear data structure, then thememory will have the problem of decreased space in the memory due to thestorage of continually increased frame data.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the file format of the image data is picturefile format for example. The processing module 30 produces image datafrom the frame data of the frame, and stores the image data in thememory 50. The image data at least includes a first file. The processingmodule 30 sequentially updates the frame data of the frame, andsequentially and individually updates the image file according to thesame data format of the first file. The updated image file at leastincludes a first file and a second file. Thus, the image data mayinclude many files compliant with file format. The portable electronicdevice 100 further provides playlist information indicating the imagedata that can be played for the user to browse. However, the user mayfurther determine whether to automatically or manually play the imagedata according to the setting of the playlist information.

The video file format or picture file format of the image file of thepresent embodiment of the invention is a format compliant with ordinaryor commonly used standards such as the format which supports at leastone of the formats including moving picture experts group (MPEG)standards (such as Motion-JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4), QuickTimemulti-media format, audio-video interactive (AVI), joint photographexperts group (JPEG) standard, bit map picture (BMP), portable networkpicture (PNG) and graphics interchange format (GIF). Thus, withouthaving to install any dedicated software, the data processing deviceenables the image file of the present embodiment of the invention to beplayable by the software capable of supporting standard or commonly usedmulti-media format, such as the multi-media programs (such as MediaPlayer, RealPlayer, Mplayer, QuickTime player) or the public orapplication programs of various operating systems (such as MicrosoftWindows, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS) that support the play of multi-media datafiles, hence largely increasing convenience.

Besides, in other examples, the files of the abovementioned video filesor image data can also be compressed according to their file formats soas to reduce the data volume. For example, the contents of the videofile use the group of picture (GOP) as a basic unit and are compliantwith MPEG-2 requirements.

In addition, referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of animage communication method of an embodiment of the invention. The imagecommunication method can be used in the portable electronic device ofFIG. 1. However, the application of the method is not limited to theembodiments using the portable electronic device of FIG. 1. As indicatedin FIG. 3, the image communication method includes steps S310-S340.Firstly, the method begins at step S310, the portable electronic device100 is enabled to emulate a virtual storage device under a communicationlink L.

Next, the method proceeds to step S320, frame data of a correspondingframe is provided for the portable electronic device 100 to show, andimage data compliant with a file format is produced according to theframe data. Then, the method proceeds to step S330, the image file isstored and can be read through the communication link L. The image fileis stored in the memory 50 of the portable electronic device 100. Afterthat, the method proceeds to step S340, a frame data update is providedfor the portable electronic device 100 to show, and the image data isupdated according to the frame data update.

Besides, in other examples, the image communication method furtherincludes the following steps. Whether a first read request is receivedis determined by the portable electronic device 100; if so, the imagedata is read, and the image data is updated according to the frame dataupdate. Whether a second read request is received is determined; if so,the updated image data is read, and the image data is updated accordingto the frame data update.

The portable electronic device of the above embodiments of the inventionand the method thereof has the following effects.

(1) The produced image file supports standard or commonly used fileformats, and the data processing device can read the image file withouthaving to install any dedicated software and can be used in differentoperating systems. The frame of the portable electronic device can beshown on the display of the data processing device, hence largelyincreasing convenience.

(2) Besides, the portable electronic device can provide image file byway of a communication link through, for example, network, USB,Bluetooth or infrared, and can cross-over different communicationmethods, platforms or networks. Compared with the conventional methodwhich requires a dedicated program, the embodiment of the invention hashigher applicability and popularity. Thus, the user can more flexiblyuse other data processing devices to show the frame of the portableelectronic device.

While the invention has been described by way of examples and in termsof preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention isnot limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope ofthe appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similararrangements and procedures.

1. A portable electronic device, comprising: a display; a processingmodule for providing frame data of a corresponding frame for the displayto show, for enabling the portable electronic device to emulate avirtual storage device under a communication link, and for producingimage data compliant with a file format according to the frame data ofthe frame; and a memory for storing the image data, wherein the imagedata is readable through the communication link; wherein the processingmodule provides a frame data update for the display to show, and updatesthe image data according to the frame data update.
 2. The portableelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the display shows a nextframe according to the frame data update.
 3. The portable electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the file format is a video fileformat, and the image data produced by the processing module is a videofile compliant with the video file format.
 4. The portable electronicdevice according to claim 3, wherein the video file has a cycling filestructure.
 5. The portable electronic device according to claim 3,wherein the portable electronic device outputs data from the video filein response to a read request under the communication link, and theprocessing module obtains a storage location according to the readrequest and updates the video file at the storage location.
 6. Theportable electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the processingmodule obtains a read address and calculates a next read addressaccording to a read request under the communication link, the processingmodule sequentially updates the frame data for the display to show andsequentially writes the frame data update to the next read address ofthe image file.
 7. The portable electronic device according to claim 6,wherein the video file has a cycling file structure.
 8. The portableelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the file format is apicture file format, and the image data produced by the processingmodule according to the image data of the frame comprises at least afirst file.
 9. The portable electronic device according to claim 8,wherein the updated image data produced by the processing modulecomprises at least the first file and a second file compliant with thefile format.
 10. The portable electronic device according to claim 1,wherein the file format supports at least one of the following formats:moving picture experts group standard, audio-video interactive, jointphotograph experts group standard, bit map picture, portable networkpicture and graphics interchange format.
 11. The portable electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the communication link isestablished through at least one of USB, Bluetooth, infraredcommunication technology, wireless network standard and WiFi standard.12. An image communication method applicable to a portable electronicdevice, the data communication method comprising: enabling the portableelectronic device to emulate a virtual storage device under acommunication link; providing frame data of a corresponding frame forthe portable electronic device to show and producing image datacompliant with a file format according to the frame data; storing theimage data, wherein the image data can be read through the communicationlink; and providing a frame data update for the portable electronicdevice to show and updating the image data according to the frame dataupdate.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the portableelectronic device shows a next frame according to the frame data update.14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the file format is a videofile format, the image data is a video file compliant with the videofile format.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the videofile has a cycling file structure.
 16. The method according to claim 14,wherein the method further comprises: in response to a read requestunder the communication link, outputting data from the video file;obtaining a storage location according to the read request and updatingthe video file at the storage location.
 17. The method according toclaim 14, wherein the method further comprises: obtaining a read addressand calculating a next read address according to a read request underthe communication link; sequentially updating frame data for theportable electronic device to show, and writing the sequentially updatedframe data to the next read address of the image file.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein the video file has a cycling filestructure.
 19. The method according to claim 12, wherein the file formatis a picture file format, and the image data produced according to theframe data of the frame comprises at least a first file.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 19, wherein the updated image data comprises: atleast the first file and a second file compliant with the file format.21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the method furthercomprises: providing playlist information indicating file information ofthe image data to be played.
 22. The method according to claim 12,wherein the method further comprises: determining whether a first readrequest is received; if so, the image data is read and the image data isupdated according to the frame data update; and determining whether asecond read request is received; if so, the updated image data is readand the image data is updated according to the frame data update. 23.The method according to claim 12, wherein the file format supports atleast one of moving picture experts group standard, audio-videointeractive, joint photograph experts group standard, bit map picture,portable network picture, and graphics interchange format.
 24. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the communication link isestablished through at least one of USB, Bluetooth, infraredcommunication technology, wireless network standard and WiFi standard.